Can we chat about fashion Instagrammers/influencers..

[Cherrypie32]

..because I don’t have anyone in real life to carp about it to. So, I follow a few, am addicted to the stories/feeds of some but don’t always know why. The ‘high end’ ones, The Frugality, Dress Like A Mum, Emma Hill etc pop up but quite designer and high end for me. I like the ramblings of Does My Bum but I’m nothing like her body shape so don’t wear her clothes. There are a few more ‘high street’ ones I follow, Steal My Style, What Kathy Did, Forty not Frumpy and more but they tend to be repetitive. Is this because they are so heavily sponsored to flog something? At the moment they are all banging on bout All Saints leather bikers and maxi skirts. And they all copy each other so there’s not much new to look at. There are a few I follow with nowhere near the amount of followers that seem more creative and have different body shapes so I presume that they have more liberty to do this as aren’t under afflilate deals.
I don’t need advice to ‘unfollow’, I enjoy looking at it all, just interested in how it all works really.

One who I really like is 40plusnotgivingup I feel like she is almost having a bit of a wrestle with herself at the moment though as her account is getting very big and it must be hard to stay true to h&m etc while other brands are throwing gifts at you

She's gotten terribly repetitive, it's like groundhog day on her Stories. I find her highlights more useful as it's categories by Shop and Month. Otherwise I'm tapping through All Saints jackets forever. And she really doesn't have to link to her Office boots every day, that's what Highlights are for. I guess she earns money every time, but its in danger of causing unfollowings as its boring.

But she is delightful though so I keep following for her personality, basically.

Same with Kat Farmer. Love the lady, hate the clothes. I haven't read her blog in months, it's all midi dresses and enormous coats, and generally £££ anyway (even the M&S stuff is the priciest they sell, leather trousers etc) so it's wasted on me. But she's very entertaining.

I really think she should diversify though. She hosts loads of parties but never actually shows us the prep, the decor, the food etc. I'd be all over that. Instead she just posts a picture of her hideously expensive midi dress she wore. Turn the camera around, dammit! She talks about redecorating but never actually shows us her doing it and her house is beautiful so it's all such a wasted opportunity. Erica Davies is cleverer and does a bit of both.

I also unfollowed SMS because of the finger. I absolutely hated it.

Interesting to see what people do/don’t enjoy. I followed a few interiors people who then started adding photos of their children. Irrelevant. Or moaning about their day job timescales to make it feel cosy. Had to unfollow fashion ones for same reasons - so much blather.

I follow nobody but would like to start.

I'm early 40s, plus size & fairly classsic in style with no budget for clothes so don't know who to watch. Will check out a couple of those mentioned but it all sounds a bit depressing 😬

I was a huge Kat Farmer fan a couple of years ago. She writes really well but she has lost me too these days, her blog goes into my spam folder now, I guess because I was deleting it unread so often. As you say, it is the same old, same old and way, way beyond my price range, or at least what I am willing to pay for such high fashion. I guess that, ultimately, the ones who do survive will be the ones who can add a bit of value, show a bit of creativity and embrace a more sustainable approach, though this #shopyourwardrobe crap turned into just another stealth boast for many of them.

buckeejit - Pinterest might be a better place to start. Just by typing in those keywords you will find some inspiration and it may even lead to some Instagrammers.

Plus size is few and far between and often verges on Insta Clothing I. E. Like ASOS Curve just chucked random cheap items at them to see what would stick.

Danielle Vernier/Levier/honestly can't remember is the most classic one in terms of dress. She always looks very sleek.

Jess On the Plus Size does a lot of clothing and whilst it's all cheap and some of it is nightclub wear as she goes out a lot, she does showcase nice trousers she comes across etc. She's also very entertaining, though she Stories way too much. She's a talker! You just have to skip through like mad.

I like Not Dressed As Lamb. She seems quite genuine and positive.

Kat Farmer’s gone very adverty and same clothes-wise.

I need less willowy people to follow.

I don't follow many but one I do follow is amothersedit who I think works in fashion and has the insta on the side. She does ads but tags them as such and links to really good stuff I wouldn't have found myself.

I was thinking about this the other day - I really want some “real” people to follow. as much as I enjoy the occasional glimpse into influencers like In the Frow’s life it’s so unrelatable to me as a person. I think i would
Prefer non perfectly themed Instagram accounts that are actually useful. maybe that’s why the cleaning accounts have really taken off.

In fairness, In The Frow has basically turned herself into a cartoon at this stage. Lovely girl, clever girl certainly and very rich I'm sure - but it's a very silly shallow photoshopped account.

Oh one I quite like is getting stuff done in heels. She seems a relatively normal woman, beautiful house and does do ads but never too expensive etc. A good range of content

I am quite active on Instagram (post daily, but tiny number of followers, about 600) and follow a mix of people. In the last six months I have unfollowed a lot who would be classed as influencers, I find the paid content boring and repetitive. DMBL40 went when she had the holidays, others when their feeds started to be mainly #ad. I also ruthlessly unfollow anyone who I can tell is posting paid content, but not disclosing it.

Of the bigger accounts, I like Wearsmymoney, Midlifechic, Esther Coren, and while there is a lot of paid content, also Tigerlillyquinn - she survives the culls because she’s consistent with disclosure, and I like her style.

Tigerlillyquinn looks quite nice but her age profile is just too young for me who is an empty nester. Trouble with all these 'grammers is that they all belong to the same "tribe" so when they aspire to looking different, they all end up looking the same different iyswim. So it's the same Insta gifting being worn by the same Insta influencers and round and round it goes. Oh, for some creativity. Possibly why I like MidlifeChic, Poppy's Style and Simplythenest - they do manage to be different, aren't courting the next sale so badly that they lose their identity and write well about something they actually believe in.

athome she’s a bit younger than me, but we have quite similar styles. Conversely, Midlifechic is a lot older than me, and I don’t actually love her style, I just like the way she writes. I am probably thinking more about her blog than Instagram.

Totally agree re MidlifeChic- she is a similar age to me but we couldn't be more different. She is very elegant and together, whereas I am always slightly dishevelled and thrown together! But......... she writes so well about such interesting things and has built a community which actually communicates through her blog. You are right - she is more of a blogger than a grammer, and it works for her. I don't want to be her - I couldn't be so formal, but her intelligence, integrity and writing make her very compelling.

Styled with Susie is brilliant.

She’s late 30’s and only shops on the high street.
She’s won a few awards too.

This one Calzone

Yes CherryPie.

She seems lovely and down to earth as well.

No, nothing ever changes! After an Insta free Christmas I have just trawled 3 (or maybe 4?) of the usual suspects to see they are all wearing identical gifted slippers. No imagination, no integrity...... sooner this fad moves on the better! A gifted recommendation isn't a recommendation, it's an advertisement!! Vacuous beyond words.

I had to unfollow 40plusnotgivingupyet - the same ripped jeans (yawn) worn with an ASOS cami (yawn), a blazer (huge yawn) and her fecking Office boots. A uniform - beyond boring.

I have unfollowed a few more lately - Danielle Vanier comes across as a massive freeloader. She got binned when she asked dentists to get in touch to 'work' with her to fix her teeth. Claiming to be scared of dentists, I'm sure her real fear was actually paying a bill for the treatment.

If an account is full of ads or stuff that's clearly been 'gifted', they get unfollowed. The only thing influencers do is turn me off brands. I hope the bubble bursts soon.

I don't follow any 'body positive' bloggers anymore.

a, cos I'm losing weight
b, too many underwear shots = not envy. Would feel the same with any instagrammer tbh
c, all the ads, especially for really expensive brands
d, promoting their own books / fashion lines
e, claiming to be "body positive" and "eff your beauty standards" (which makes my eyes roll) then ranting about 'haters' - if you're truly body positive and truly don't care, then why bother ranting? just ignore it and get on with your instagram shite

@strangerthings I’m over the body positivity thing too Too often it’s used as a cover story when really they need to get their hea,th under control - whether they’re too fat or too thin (and I’m fat myself)

If they’re promoting £500 handbags, £250 jeans and £100 t shirts, they’re probably not my type of inspiration... well apart from ‘That’s how to spend your pension in your 30s and 40s’

I follow quite a few "normal mums who look good" style accounts:

champagnefashiononabeerbudget
amumsstyle
mumredressed - I absolutely love this account
thefashionstylefile - another favourite
rachelthehat
teacherfashionista
40notfrumpy
thismummysstyle
hayleyloveshighstreet

@Gotstuckwiththisname thanks for those, just had a look and all those I'm now going to follow as good choices!